Product Photo Ideas for Outdoor Brands

Trekking through a mountain valley. Surfing a crisp turquoise wave. Swimming with sharks. These are the types of adventures that outdoor brands have in mind when developing products for their adventure-minded customers. And while good quality products and gear are essential for adventures, what really separates the great outdoor brands with loyal fan bases from the struggling ones is the stories they tell.

Now, great copy, including your website write ups, blog articles and social posts, go along way towards crafting a story that resonates with your adventure-mind customers. But product photography, and really any photography you use to showcase your outdoor brand, helps drive your story, too. The key is to create imagery that associates your brand with a specific kind of environment, while invoking a sense of adventure in your potential customers. If you can harness that in your brand images, your potential customers will not only start to understand your brand’s story, but also align it with their own story.

So, how exactly can you tell an epic adventure story about your brand through photography? Here are three product photo ideas for outdoor brands to help you get started:

Use Props and Outdoor Scenes

The go-to photos for many product-based brands are standard product shots. You know the ones I’m talking about - a simple photo of your product with a white (or simple) backdrop. Boring!

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have standard product photos. In fact, you probably should, as they can definitely help showcase your products’ details and quality, which is essential if you’re hoping to sell most of your products online. I’m just saying you may be able to spruce them up a bit to invoke that sense of adventure in your customers and help tell your brand’s story.

If you can, try and snap some photos of your product in the environment they’ll be used in. For instance, if you sell snorkel gear, it may make sense to snap some photos at the beach or even under water. Since these are product photos, you’ll still want to keep the attention mainly on the product, so try and find background thats aren’t too chaotic, but instead have texture. Going back to the snorkel example, you could try placing your gear on sand or on top of pebbles. Those backgrounds are simple enough that they won’t distract from your product, while also invoking a sense of the beach.

if it makes sense, you can also include a few props that further create a sense of adventure around your products. With the snorkel gear example, you could place a few shells or nautical rope in the frame, subtly framing you gear. Again, the goal is to keep the focus on your product, so avoid placing too many distracting elements in the frame. But remember, you’re an outdoor adventure brand, so have some fun with it.

When in doubt, however, keep your product shots simple - even if that means using the tried and tested white backdrop.

Try Environmental Portrait Photography

When telling your brand’s story through photos, one of the goals is to create imagery that aligns with your potential customers’ goals, beliefs and, as previously mentioned, story. As part of this, your customers need to see themselves using your products. Aside from loaning your customers your products so they can try them out for themselves, one of the best ways for them to connect themselves with your products is to show other people using them through environmental portrait photography.

Environmental portrait photography goes beyond standard portrait shots with a simple background, placing your subjects in a specific environment that resonates with their personality, beliefs and interests. So, as an outdoor brand that focuses on, say, swimsuits and gear for surfing, you could represent your brand with photos of people surfing. It sounds simple, but simply portraying other people doing the adventure your company creates products for will connect it with other like-minded people that do the same adventuress.

Now, as an outdoor brand, the only difference between environmental portrait photography and environmental product photography is that you’ll typically want your model(s) using your products in the shot. Again, the adventure-based scene will resonate with your target customers, and they will also start to see your products as the go-to gear for that type of adventure.

Utilize Scenic Shots

When building a brand story for your outdoor products and gear, keep in mind that your products don’t need to be in every photo. Sometimes utilizing scenic shots alone can really help drive the essence of your brand and connect it with the adventures your customers enjoy. For instance, if you sell swimsuits or other gear for the beach, try showcasing images of waves breaking. If you sell coats for very cold winters, utilize images of epic mountain scenes.

The more imagery that invokes the types of adventures your products are designed for, the more your potential customers will start to connect themselves with the story you’re telling - not just the products you’re trying to sell. When you focus on showcasing your story through your images, as opposed to just your products, your customers will actually become more loyal to your brand and what you stand for, making them more likely to purchase your products in the future. So, don’t be afraid to throw in some scenic shots that don’t include your products. The goal is to tell your story through your photos - not just sell products.

So, where can you get scenic shots to use for your brand? You can use stock image sites or license them from landscape photographers. Or, if you’ve got some landscape photography skills, you can even snap your own. Just ensure that, if you’re going to use them for commercial purposes, you acquire any applicable permits required.

Conclusion

Strategic product photography can not only help outdoor brands share their story, but also align it with their adventure-minded customers’ stories. To start, try elevating some of your brand’s standard product shots by snapping photos of your gear with a few applicable props or, if possible, in the environment the gear is meant for. Next, harness the power of environmental portrait photography, snapping photos of people utilizing your products and gear to help your potential customers envision themselves using it too. Lastly and if it makes sense for your brand, don’t be afraid to use some scenic shots that don’t include your products. Landscape photos can make potential customers associate your brand with specific environments and / or adventures, helping them remember your products when they plan future excursions into those types of places.